Spring Home Maintenance Checklist for 2026 (With What Each Job Costs)

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Winter is hard on a house. Freezing and thawing cracks things, snow and ice load up the roof and gutters, and the heating system works for months with little rest. Spring is when you find out what the cold actually did.

This checklist walks around your home in a sensible order: roof and gutters first, then outside, then inside, then the cooling system before the first hot week. Every job has a rough 2026 price for hiring it out and a note on whether you can do it yourself.

Quick answer: what does spring maintenance cost?

If you do most of it yourself, plan on $100 to $300 for supplies. If you hire out the big jobs (gutters, roof check, AC tune-up, lawn), expect $600 to $1,500 for the season.

Spring job	Hire a pro	DIY cost
Gutter cleaning	$120 to $300	$0 to $30
Roof inspection	$150 to $400	Free (from the ground)
AC tune-up	$100 to $300	Filter only, $10 to $40
Lawn aeration and first feed	$100 to $250	$40 to $120
Pressure washing (house or driveway)	$100 to $800	$50 to $100 to rent
Deck stain or seal	$2 to $5 per sq ft	$1 to $2 per sq ft
Smoke and CO detector batteries	n/a	$20 to $50

Ranges pulled from 2026 cost guides at Fixr, HomeAdvisor, LawnStarter, Housecall Pro and HomeWyse. Your local prices will differ. Get 2 or 3 quotes for anything over $300.

Step 1: Roof and gutters (do this first)

Anything wrong up top will drip on everything below it, so start here.

Look at the roof from the ground. Binoculars help. You are looking for missing, curled or cracked shingles, and shiny bare patches where granules wore off. See our full guide to roof inspection and repair cost.
Check the flashing. That is the metal around chimneys, vents and skylights. Gaps here cause most spring leaks.
Clean the gutters and downspouts. Water should run freely out at least 4 to 6 feet from the foundation. Pro price is about $120 to $300. More in our gutter cleaning cost guide.
Look for sagging gutter sections. Ice often pulls them loose. Re-hanging a few brackets costs little if you catch it now.

Never climb a wet or steep roof. Look from the ground or hire an inspector.

Step 2: Outside walls, foundation and windows

Walk the foundation. Look for new cracks wider than about 1/4 inch, or cracks that are growing. Hairline cracks are normal. Wide or stair-step cracks deserve a call to a structural engineer (usually $300 to $700 for a visit).
Check the siding and trim. Soft or peeling wood, cracked caulk and bubbling paint let water in. Poke suspect wood with a screwdriver. If it sinks in, it is rotting.
Re-caulk windows and doors where it has cracked. A tube costs $5 to $10. A handyman charges about $50 to $100 an hour.
Wash the house. Algae and dirt shorten the life of paint. See pressure washing cost before you buy or rent a machine.
Repaint where needed. Spot paint now, or plan a full job. Details in exterior house painting cost.
Test window screens and replace torn ones. A new screen is $15 to $40 to DIY.

Step 3: Deck, porch and driveway

Do the water test on your deck. Sprinkle water on the boards. If it beads, the sealer still works. If it soaks in within a minute or so, it is time to clean and re-seal. Cost and method in deck staining and sealing cost.
Tighten loose railings and screws. Railings must hold. Push hard on each post.
Look for cracks and heaved spots in the driveway. Fill small cracks with concrete crack filler, about $10 to $20 per tube.
Check the steps and handrails for the same reasons.

Step 4: Lawn and yard

Rake out dead grass and winter debris. Do it when the soil is no longer soggy.
Aerate in the right season. Cool-season grass (most of the northern half of the US) is best aerated in early fall, but a spring pass helps compacted lawns. Warm-season grass is aerated in late spring. Price in our lawn care and aeration cost guide.
Set up the mower. New blade, fresh oil and a clean air filter. A shop tune-up is about $60 to $120. DIY parts run $25 to $50.
Trim back trees and shrubs that touch the house or roof. Branches that rub the roof wear shingles and give squirrels a ramp.
Check outdoor faucets and hoses. Turn the water on slowly and look for drips inside the house on the other side of the wall. A burst pipe from winter often shows up only when you turn the tap back on.

Step 5: Cooling system and inside the house

Book the AC tune-up now. Technicians are less busy in April than in July, and prices are often lower. Typical cost is $100 to $300. See AC tune-up cost.
Change the HVAC filter. Every 1 to 3 months. A pack of filters is $20 to $60.
Test every smoke and carbon monoxide detector. Replace batteries. Replace any unit older than 10 years.
Check under sinks and around the water heater for slow leaks and rust.
Flush the water heater if you have not done it in a year. DIY it, or a plumber charges about $100 to $200.
Clean the dryer vent. Lint buildup is a fire risk. A pro does it for $100 to $200.
Inspect the attic and crawl space. Look for damp insulation, water stains on the roof deck, and signs of pests.
Clean the refrigerator coils and the dishwasher filter. It takes 15 minutes each and helps the appliances last.

DIY vs hiring a pro

You can do most of the list on your own. Hire a pro for:

Anything high up. Roof checks, second-story gutters.
The AC. Refrigerant work needs a licensed technician.
Electrical or structural worries. Scorched outlets, wide foundation cracks.

Do it yourself: gutters on a one-story house, filter changes, caulking, battery swaps, lawn raking, deck sealing on a small deck.

Ways to save money on spring maintenance

Bundle jobs with one company. Many gutter and exterior cleaning crews also wash the house and driveway. Ask for a package price.
Book early. March to May fills up. Early bookings sometimes get 10% to 20% off.
Sign up for an HVAC maintenance plan if you want spring and fall visits. Plans often cost $150 to $350 a year and usually include discounts on repairs.
Buy supplies off-season. Stain, caulk and lawn seed are cheaper in late summer clearance.
Fix small problems now. A $10 caulk job today avoids a $1,500 rotted trim repair next year.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start spring home maintenance? When night temperatures stay above freezing and the ground is not soggy. For most of the US, that is March to April. In the South it can be February.

How much should I budget for home maintenance each year? A common rule is 1% of the home's value per year. On a $350,000 house that is about $3,500 for the whole year, not only spring.

What is the most important spring task? Gutters and the roof. Water getting into the house causes the most expensive damage.

Is a home inspection needed in spring? Not for most owners. A roof check and an AC tune-up cover the two biggest systems that winter stresses.

Should I do all of it in one weekend? No. Split it over a few weekends. Do roof and gutters first, then outside, then inside.

The bottom line

A spring checklist costs a few hundred dollars if you do the easy parts yourself, and a bit over $1,000 if you hire out gutters, roof, AC and lawn. Either way it is cheap next to what a leaking roof or a dead air conditioner costs in July.

Looking for the whole-year version? See our Home Maintenance Checklist by Season.

Sources: Fixr, HomeAdvisor, LawnStarter, Housecall Pro and HomeWyse cost guides, 2026 pricing.